Reviews by TheTrevor:

The beer poured a clear amber with a big head that didn't last long. The nose is some light breadiness. The taste starts with some slightly piney hops with just a little bit of sweetness to offset it. The hop oils linger on the palate and make for a bit of a cloying aftertaste. The alcohol is present as well, giving it a little bit of warming. The mouthfeel is slightly carbonated with a little thickness. Not a bad beer, by any means. It just doesn't bring a ton to the table and feels a little off-balanced.

More User Reviews:

Picked up a sixer of this at the uptown Waterloo LCBO - I've enjoyed their pilsner on several occasions, so they've got my vote.

Poured into a Stella glass. Deep golden-amber hue, good amount of visible carbonation. Foams up about a half inch before receding to a fine ring and film.

Nose is pretty unremarkable. Sweet malt, a bit of bread, honey.

Sweet at first, with notes of bread and caramel, before cleaning things up with a mild hop bitterness. Nice lager, nothing too exciting, but damned easy to drink. A bit hollow though.

Thin bodied, carbonation is a bit wild. I enjoyed this better straight from the bottle, in fact.

Though not as grand as their pilsner, King's vienna lager is a decent, serviceable brew that would make for a fine patio/bbq sixer to bring along. A bit more assertiveness and more body would have made this a stellar brew (compare with Great Lakes Eliot Ness).

341ml bottle. Another Ontario brewery new to the shelves of Alberta stores last week. "Ultra Premium" - sigh.

This beer pours a clear copper-amber colour, with one solid finger of densely foamy off-white head, which leaves a random atoll group dispersal of lace around the glass as it sinks away.

It smells of sweet, almost sugary caramel malt, mediated somewhat by some far-left setting toasted biscuity grain character, a mild orchard fruitiness, and very tame earthy, leafy hops. The taste is mildly toasty bready malt, a now weirdly AWOL (style points!) caramel malt, though its absence gives way to a soft metallic mineral note, amongst a middling, restrained citrus and slowly loosening up floral hoppiness.

The carbonation is softly lilting, the body medium weight, and a tad clammy, but otherwise quite smooth. It finishes off-dry, the grainy sweetness not ready to really let go, though the hops do nothing to fill the newly formed flavour void.

Having experienced very few examples of the style, all I can say is that this does a fair job of hitting the majority of the academic laundry list of points, and is enjoyable enough to have more than a few, in addition to conveniently being BBQ and boardgame friendly.

Copper coloured, with a large off-white head. Poor retention and spotty lace. Clean aroma shows bread, toasty, and light floral notes. Bread crust and mild nut flavours up front, with very low hop bitterness in its short short finish. Light-medium bodied with low carbonation - it's mouthfeel is smooth and crisp. A bit delicate, but easily and enjoyably sessionable.

On tap at Beer Bistro. Slightly reddish tinge body with some lace. Great malt aroma. Dryish lager, balanced and easy drinking.A tad sweet. Bang on for the style,as this brewery accomplishes consistently, and likely my more or less average rating for this pleasant style over the years.

Bottle: Poured a light clear copper color Vienna with a medium foamy head with good carbonation and some light lacing. Aroma of biscuit malt with light caramel malt is good. Taste is dominated by light dry caramel malt with light gain notes. Body is about average with good carbonation. Nothing really special here.

Its blatantly obvious that when considering lager beer everyone inevitably jumps right into a Pilsner. It is the world's most popular beer style after all. Because of this I feel like other light but flavorful lagers get overlooked, and inexcusably so. One such style that deserves much more attention than it receives is the Vienna Lager. These lager beers are brewed with vienna malt (among others), which is kilned slightly more intensely then Pilsner malt imparting soft flavors of toast and bread. The resulting beer is smooth and cleanly malty with a rounder and softer overall mouthfeel compared to the crisper texture of a Pilsner.

Ontario beer lovers have access to a phenomenal example of the style - the King Brewery Vienna Lager. This beer just recently won a gold medal at the 2011 Canadian Brewing Awards in the North American Style Amber Lager category, and rightly so. King has been brewed in Nobelton Ontario since 2002, and is now owned by Beer Barons who have so far continued to push the quality of King's beers forward. The Vienna Lager is available at the LCBO, and King's other two brands, the Pilsner and Dark Lager are at The Beer Store.

I pulled the Vienna Lager from my fridge and let it warm for about 10 minutes. I want this beer to be cool and refreshing, but not palate numbingly cold. I poured it into a tall stemmed flute cool around 8C (45F) gently. The pour was smooth and gentle building a soft and airy white head that lifted itself easily and developed a rich sticky texture as it crept gently over the lip of the glass. Sturdy and eggshell white, it protected a golden yellow beer below that shone with bronze and caramel colors. Its strikingly pretty and held into the light gleams a sunshine yellow and pearl white foam. Easy way to get me excited already.

The nose is soft and subtle but elegant and pleasing. It is round with light malt aromas that beacon at toast, baking bread and dough. It does not leap out of the glass, and nor should it. But it does warm your nose with gentle flavors that are mingled perfectly together foreshadowing a lush flavor experience that could be enjoyed for hours on end. At the very end of the nose is a slight whiff of hops showing off light grassy and herbal tones. Very faint though, and just enough to balance.

The first sip allows for pure refreshment as smooth and clean malty flavors gently glide by with subtle and soft bitterness and a clean and lightly carbonated mouthfeel. Right away I knew the beauty of this beer. I could have easily just relaxed and drank the beer without any consideration or focus on the detail of its construction or flavor profile and seriously enjoyed the simplistic nature of its character. At the same time, with a moment of attention came a rush of depth and flavor that instantly triggered my sense of intrigue. Light toast, warm bread, soft malts and a creamy texture balanced of by a floral hint of bitterness - all in gentle and easy fashion. All of a sudden the Vienna Lager shines! And hence its purpose - easy drinking and enjoyable flavors that can be appreciated and enjoyed while not making lots of noise.

A beer of this sort is fit for a wide range beer drinking experiences. It will certainly shine on its own with great company, but will also be a wonderful pairing with soft cheeses, turkey, grilled or roasted chicken, vinaigrette salads, light deserts, spice and hearty fare, as well as classic pub food. My personal favorite is fish and chips.

Pours gold, with hints of orange. Creamy head, nice lacing is left. Some grain, general bready notes. Mild caramel and some light floral hops. Taste has more grain, bread, red apple, caramel, lager yeastiness. Medium mouthfeel and a medium-low carbonation. Simple and another well crafted beer from King. Something "sessionable" I could revisit, and hope this will see bottle distribution at some point.

341 mL bottle from a sixpack. Dated 01/13/12 - I hope that is a packaging date and not an expiry one, because I know for a fact these six-packs haven't been in the store for particularly long.

Pours a translucent copper-orange colour, topped with a modest, off-white coloured head that soon fizzles away, leaving a thin, wispy cap with no lace. Clean, malty aroma with bready, biscuity sweetness, some caramel, brown sugar and a light nuttiness. Some light, floral hop notes as well. Smells like a Vienna lager alright.

I was sitting on the fence until I sipped this - it looks and smells merely decent, but this is a tasty, quality lager. Freshly baked biscuits and toasted bread come to mind, along with a healthy slathering of caramel. There's also a light fruity quality, reminding me of brown pear or perhaps white grapes. Floral, slightly grassy hop bitterness comes forward in the finish, lingering briefly on the palate. Light bodied, a bit watery, with too much carbonation for my liking. Still, it's quite crisp, refreshing and drinkable.

Final Grade: 3.65, an acceptable B grade. The last time I bought a 'Vienna-style lager', I wound up with a can of Trailhead. King Vienna is nothing like that stuff - this is a legitimate, well-made Vienna lager that I really enjoyed. Ridiculously sessionable - finishing this six-pack will be no trouble, and could probably be accomplished even during a slow evening.

This is a style I tend to overlook, as there just aren't very many quality ones available around here. Not being an expert in Vienna lagers, perhaps the only useful information I can offer is this - it's a better choice than Dos Equis Amber. Definitely worth a try, and something I'll probably pick up again some time.

Pours a clear golden-amber colour with a hefty and frothy head that burns off after a few minutes, leaving a small collar and film.

Smells of toasted malts, wild flowers and soapy hops. The malt has a real honey or caramel-like sweetness to it.

The taste is bready, with a nice crisp bite. A sweet caramel flavour with a fresh grain backing comes through on the tongue. Simple, but very clean and well-balanced.

Medium-bodied with a light carbonation, maybe a bit syrupy as it passes the tongue. A bit of a fatty or nutty taste comes through on the back of the tongue.

Another solid entry from King Brewery. I don't like it as much as their pilsner, but this is a really accessible, easy-drinking beer that will likely find its way into my regular rotation for dinner parties.

T - Much like the nose with a prominent earthy leafy green hop note, grassy flavours, and bready caramel that comes through on the finish. Nothing crazy, but flavourful nonetheless.

M - Medium bodied, smooth and a touch of dry on the finish.

O - I can't say that I'm overly familiar with the style, but I can certainly say this was a non-offensive, flavourful and easy drinking offering. Worth a try and I would certainly down a 6-er of this, no problem.